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body issues

so it’s that time of year again, where are you hit the panic button for any weigh you still haveto lose. It’s that time when whatever slacking you’ve done is about to cause to you to go over the edge! bathing suit season is right there just a few weeks away and you’re wondering if the whole body 1920s bathing suits are ever going to come back in style. I have decided to do the 3 day diet, also known as the cabbage soup diet, and report on the results. This is your standard low calorie diet but with the level of fruits and vegetables that are a part of it it is less detrimental then many of the crash diets. this is by no means an endorsement of the diet. It is more or less an experiment with not only how easy it is but also its effectiveness, its overall results and the side effects if any. My intention is to start the diet tomorrow and report every day on my results. so expect to see numbers and explanations in the coming days.

Like this:

Place a pair of dumbbells about shoulder-width apart on the floor. (A) Grab the handles and position yourself in a pushup position. (B) Lower your body to the floor and then press back up. (C) Once you’re back in the starting position, pull the dumbbell in your right hand up toward the side of your chest. Pause, then return the starting position and repeat with your left hand. That’s 1 rep. Try to prevent your torso from rotating each time you row the weight.

Have a big date or party coming up and just a couple of days to prepare for it? We have shortcuts to looking head-to-toe spectacular.

Get a Sexy Body

1. To de-bloat, try this quick detox diet. You’re going to have five meals a day for two days. For the first four meals, whip up a shake made of a) a scoop of protein powder equaling 20 grams of protein, b) a handful of fresh or frozen berries, c) a teaspoon of flaxseed oil, d) ice and water. For the fifth meal, grill or bake four ounces of lean protein (fish, chicken, or turkey breast), one and a half cups of steamed vegetables, and five nuts or olives.

3. Drink at least four cups of water plus four cups of green tea (it’s a great fat burner) each day. And nix alcohol, which is high in calories, slows down your metabolism, and makes a mockery of your willpower.

4. Don’t eat later than 8 p.m. Chowing down at night will leave you puffy and sluggish the next day. Plus, it interrupts the production of the growth hormones that your body produces at night, which decrease body fat and build muscle mass.

5. On that note, get between seven and eight hours of sleep a night to give your body enough time to make those growth hormones. Even just a couple nights of good sleep will make a big difference.

6. Two days before the event, start increasing your workout to 90 minutes. Do 30 minutes of cardio, followed by 30 minutes of weights, and then finish up with another half hour of cardio. This will give you instant definition. Can’t swing 90 minutes? Aim for one hour.

1. Exfoliate your entire body in the shower the night before the party for smooth, gleaming skin.

2.To get a summery glow in the dead of winter, swipe a self-tanning towelette over your skin. Try Kate Somerville 360° TanningTowelettes, $45, sephora.com. It’s easy to use, and the color is gradual — if you want a deeper color, just use a second towelette.

3. The fastest way to fix puffy eyes or dark circles: Brew two green tea bags, and let them cool. Then lie down and place them over your eyes for 10 minutes. The caffeine will tighten the tissue and reduce swelling. Or, pick up an eye rollerball that contains caffeine, which constricts the blood vessels that cause dark circles; the rollerball tip also lets you massage the area under your eyes to help break up lymphatic build-up that brings on puffiness. Try First Aid Beauty Detox Eye Roller, $24, firstaidbeauty.com.

4. If you have a zit, shrink it on the spot by wrapping an ice cube in a thin dish towel and resting it on the pimple for three minutes. This will alleviate inflammation and redness. Then cover the zit with a dab of lavender oil, which will dehydrate the blemish and kill bacteria.

5. Sleep is as crucial for your complexion as it is for your figure, so don’t skimp on it. Your body replenishes skin cells and produces collagen and elastin (which keep your skin strong and plump) while you’re sleeping.

Score Head-Turning Hair

1. The day of the event, use a volumizing shampoo to give your hair extra body.

2. Follow with a deep-conditioning hair masque. Leave it on for three to five minutes for major shine. Bonus: Add a couple of Ken Paves Healthy Hair Boost Up Color Drops, $19.99, shopkenpaves.com, to the conditioner. It will intensify and brighten your color.

3. For a super blowout, let your hair air-dry for several minutes before using a blow-dryer. Working with two-inch-wide sections of hair, lift each section with a round brush, blast the roots to amp up volume, and then angle the nozzle of the blow-dryer down as you run the brush through your hair, curling the ends under. This will smooth out flyaways.

Women do not need to worry about growing big and manly with weights, unless that is what you want and what you WORK very hard to achieve. This is not to say that you will not gain any muscle, you will, but you will not gain muscle like a man. Instead, you will become toned and shapely. Studies have shown that men and women do not need to train differently. If you are a woman and want to gain muscle and improve your shape and curves, then you are going to have to lift heavy weights. This means that instead doing endless reps with light weights, as the media often prescribes women to do, you need to lift some heavy weights and really challenge yourself! While performing high rep sets (15-20 reps) does have some benefit, it is not optimal to adding muscle mass.

Your weight failure should be as follows, depending on the goals and outcome you are looking for

That is very superficial overview of rep ranges as there is a lot of crossover of adaptations between rep ranges. For example, many people grow lifting solely in the 1-5 rep range and 12+ rep range. But it gives you an idea of the weight you need to lift to grow; a weight that you can complete for at least 6 reps but not more than 12 reps.

The following things can help with the true body changes that I want to make.

Like this:

My whole body is different. My butt is smaller, my breasts are down to a 38dd which is tiny to me… Yes I’m serious. But my stomach. What the fuck, nature! My stomach has its own set of rules. It will not get small at the same rate as everything else. So I have this pudding belly.
It torments me…. All I see when I look at pictures is the pudding belly. I also have one stubborn bit of back fat that is in cahoots with my stomach. This is what keeps plastic surgery in million dollar jeans!

Day 2 of Squat challenge and I am already feeling the pain. Since I do a round in the realm of squats ( high , low, plies, concentrated) It is not limited on one area. Just a widely general ache. OUCH! it’s honestly not unpleasant but it does actually ache. I love and hate the pain of working out.

Today I did 100 squats

I also did legs, abs and arms today. I did a two-minute plank which I am pretty damn proud of! My arms are my weakest part.

I want to be 20% fitter by the first of 2014. I would like to be working out more consistently and eating a healthier diet.This is me today , post 1st squat challenge workout (180 squats) I hate to be negative about my self but I want to point out my problem areas. These are the things I am working on the hardest. If you want to see the squats I did , click the picture.

Arm: Lunch lady arms , too big , too much fat very little muscle tone
stomach: Packing to much paunch ( see what I did there?) and no definition.
thighs: Jiggle … too much of it.